Saboteur Mosquitoes
curs throughout the temperate regions and,
with A. punctipennis, is not uncommon in
Alaska.
Different species of anophelines have greatly
different habits. Control of malaria in a par
ticular area can be effected by directing atten
tion to the species ferrying the disease and
ignoring all others. This practice is called
species sanitation.
One of the daddies of all mosquitoes, at
least in size, is Psorophora ciliata, which
breeds widely in the eastern United States,
from Mexico to Canada (page 193). It is
often called the gallinipper.
Almost twice as large as the house mosquito,
it is adorned with bands of black and white
hairs, which, under the microscope, are truly
beautiful. This species is almost beneficial,
because its red, inch-long larvae feed on other
species of mosquitoes. Those experiencing its
bite, however, may differ with me as to its
benefits.
Aedes tacniorhynchus breeds in southern
salt marshes. Aedes vexans is widespread,
particularly across the northern half of the
United States, and frequently occurs in myr
iads in flood plains in late spring or early
summer. I have taken numbers of full-grown
Aedes nigripes larvae only a few miles from
the Arctic Circle, where the water is never
many degrees above freezing.
Harpagomyia genurostris adults, residents
of Malaya, get their meals by seizing an ant of
the genus Crematogaster and taking the food
from its mouth.
Child Marriage among Skeeters
Child marriage is common in Opifex fusous
in New Zealand. The adult male seizes the
female pupa before she has emerged from the
saline rock pools, assists in her emergence, and
mates with her while she is still in her pupal
skin.
I gained my first experience in mosquito
control at Sodus Bay, New York, on Lake
Ontario in 1915. It was here I became ac
quainted with Mansonia perturbans, whose
larval and pupal habits are unique in the
biology of mosquitoes.
This species is a
severe biter and therefore should be given
priority whenever suppressive measures are
developed.
Larvicides as ordinarily applied are worth
less against these mosquitoes, and any amount
of ordinary inspection for the larvae will be
unsuccessful. Dr. E. P. Felt, then State ento
mologist of New York, who was directing my
work, told me to cut chunks of floating cat
tails and wash them in a tub of water.
I found the larvae and pupae attached to
the succulent roots of the cattails and other
aquatic plants. They obtain oxygen from the
roots of these plants and never appear at the
surface of the water until they are ready to
emerge as adults (page 193).
Mosquito Speed-75 Miles in 6 Weeks
The flight range of the various species of
mosquitoes differs greatly. Most of the
anophelines travel short distances-say, a mile
or two from their breeding grounds. Some of
the salt-marsh breeders fly great distances.
Aedes squamiger in the vicinity of San Fran
cisco Bay, for example, has covered a distance
of 75 miles after traveling six weeks.
My associates, C. M. Gjullin and W. W.
Yates, and I once obtained some specific infor
mation on the flight range and longevity of
Aedes vexans and A. lateralis in the lower Co
lumbia River Valley. Young adults in large
numbers were stained with aqueous solutions
of eosin and methyl blue before they began
to migrate from their breeding grounds, an
island in the Columbia River.
Within 24 hours "red" and "blue" mosqui
toes were recaptured on the mainland a mile
away, where they had traveled both with and
against the wind currents. Several days later
stained individuals were recaptured four miles
distant. The oldest stained specimen recov
ered was a female taken 53 days after her red
bath.
We have learned that eggs of Aedes vexans
and A. lateralis may even remain viable on
the ground for five years if not flooded (page
193).
In the United States mosquito control was
first undertaken on a large scale in New Jersey
under the leadership of J. B. Smith and T. J.
Headlee. In the years that followed, several
types of heavy specialized machinery were
developed for the express purpose of exter
minating mosquitoes.
I know of no insect that appears more often
in entomological literature than the mosquito.
I try to record a bibliography of them for a
periodical, Mosquito News. More that 400
different papers, large and small, throughout
the world, devoted to mosquitoes, are listed
annually. There are three flourishing State
mosquito-control associations in the United
States, in New Jersey, Florida, and California.
The mosquito ferry command has met
determined opposition from all fronts at last.
God made the star-hung skies for us,
The whispering trees, the hills, and lakes.
Of course he made mosquitoes, too
But everybody makes mistakes.
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